Ocean Person- your post #73
You list some 21 individuals that I imagine you view as heroes. You laud them for speaking the truth. What "truth" has Snowden uttered? His centre piece "truth" was the US Government used legal and proper means to access the phone records of its citizens. To be effective this means of gathering intelligence had to remain secret. He decided he knew better than elected Officials and the views of one individual rode rough-shode over the interests of the many. Can you be sure either his "crusade" or the next hero's crusade is not really motivated by the lust for "15 minute of fame" and a book deal?
You completely ignore the 100,000s of others who take their duties under whatever code or version of The Official Secrets Act they subscribe to, more seriously, than your famed 21, I am sure many have seen or been ask to undertake tasks they considered improper, but chose to deal with these conflicts by proper means without compromising the national interest. They put their egos behind their principles.
You asked if the Puervian President's Plane made me think? It just made me think to use someone's airspace is not a right, it's a privilege and permission must be sought (it's called Diplomatic Clearance). The permission will come with conditions and I am sure one of them is you cannot harbour a known fugitive. I am sure you would not approve of your country allowing another country to use your airspace for something you dissapproved of, like say, rendition?
Finally, you are entitled to your heroes as I am to mine. I found it quite poignant in a week a lowly signals technician has grabbed the headlines, another lowly signals technician, Len Owen, had his obituary published. 70 years ago Snowden may have fulfilled a similar role. I wonder how history would of played out if men like Len Owen had "blown the whistle" when they saw something they deemed inappropriate. The good news for us is that guys like Len Owen just did their duty and for that reason I do not have to write the following in German.
"Snowden is not fit to sniff the p!ss off Len Owen's boots"
Or is that too mililtary-minded for you ;-)